Toward a Framework for Understanding the Experiences of Transnational Communities

Series:

Edited By Rosalie Rolón-Dow and Jason G. Irizarry

The Latino/a diaspora is undoubtedly transforming the demographics and cultural geographies of the United States.
Diaspora Studies in Education advances an active use of the concept of «diaspora», focusing on processes that impact the diasporization of the Latino/a population, and more specifically, examining those diasporization processes in the arena of education. Focusing on the education of Puerto Ricans, the second largest Latino/a subgroup, the authors of this volume elucidate themes that are useful not only for those concerned with the education of Puerto Rican youth but also applicable to the study of other diasporic communities. The book is useful as a text in a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses, including foundations of education, multicultural education, anthropology of education, and introductory courses in Latino and ethnic studies departments.

Extract

SHABAZZ NAPIER WITH JASON G. IRIZARRY

A big part of life is figuring out who you are, crafting an identity that is influenced by your past, is performed in the present, and moves toward becoming the kind of person you want to be in the future. People who have the means, travel the world looking for inspiration. Some read books trying to learn more about themselves. Others spend time in meditation. For me, my search for self and many of the “ah ha” moments that inform my identity have occurred on the 94’x 50’ hardwood floor of a basketball court. It is in this space that I have learned many life lessons, opened doors to academic institutions that are typically out of reach for many in my community, and crafted an identity as a student athlete. The value of playing team sports has been touted in research and in popular media, and there is a general consensus that playing sports can have a positive impact on kids’ physical, social, and emotional development. While I can certainly speak to these benefits, I have recently spent a significant amount of time reflecting on how basketball has created an opportunity for me to develop a more robust, emerging sense of my own racial/ethnic identity as a DiaspoRican. In this narrative, I share how my participation on the Puerto Rican national basketball team allowed me to embrace my identity as a Puerto Rican in the diaspora, how my identity is...

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